Night Time Visits
by Chandlure Trainez
Summary: Usopp visits Kaya one evening to help her study, but winds up cuddling with her and telling a story instead. Yasopp decides to come home for the first time in 13 years and finds way less than he hoped for. A Chandlure Trainez One Shot.


_Night Time Visits_

Usopp crouched in the shadows of the mansion as Kuro stalked past him, unaware of the teenager lurking nearby. He held his breath as the butler's shoes crunched on the dead leaves scattered across the lush lawn a few feet away from him. It seemed like an eternity before the front gate screeched open, closing again with a bang of the lever against the lock.

It was only then that Kuro lit the lantern that he had clenched in his hand. Usopp pressed himself closer to the stone wall of the mansion as the pirate looked behind himself once more, making his way into the forest.

Usopp raised an eyebrow at the butler's aberrant behavior but was grateful that the main cog in the mansions bulwark defense was temporarily away.

He looked through the window beside his head and saw that Merry, Kaya's other butler, slumbering lightly on the living room couch. The light from the fireplace highlighted the urbane decor and cast shadows about the room. He snuck away from the window to the tree below Kaya's second floor window. He could see from his position, that a candle was lit on her bedside table, which meant that she had yet to go to sleep.

He gripped the closest branch and pulled himself up, hugging the trunk as the feeble branch shook with the addition of his weight. Kaya stuck her head out of the window and looked down, a bemused expression on her face, "that branch gets you every time."

Usopp blushed and carefully reached up with one hand to the next branch and pulled himself up, sitting comfortably with his legs around the branch. He leaned back against the trunk and folded his arms across his chest. "I'll go home." he said with a cheeky smile. His grin grew as he watched the pout crossing her face.

"You wouldn't," was her response, her eyes twinkling. "Come in, I want to show you something I've been working on."

Usopp raised an eyebrow, "oh?" he pushed himself forward to grab the top of the window and swung himself through. He landed quietly onto the carpeted floor, years of jumping down from places teaching him how to land. He closed the window most of the way, and then the curtains to keep the light from the candle from catching Kuro's attention if he happened to come back early.

Making himself comfortable at the foot of Kaya's bed, he pulled off his boots before leaning back on his elbows. She was taking forever to get what she needed together, which caused him to roll his eyes and drop his head onto the soft comforter so that he could stare at the ceiling.

He must have dozed off, because when he opened his eyes again Kaya was sitting beside him on the bed, feet tucked under her body and a sketchbook clutched to her chest. Usopp yawned and pushed himself onto his side, propping up on an elbow. "What's that?"

Kaya tucked her hair behind her ear and glared at him, "you're exhausted. If you were so tired from working all day you shouldn't have come. You are going to make yourself sick."

Usopp rolled his eyes, "hush. I'm fine. What have you got to show me?" He hid his face in the comforter to stifle another yawn, he _was_ pretty tired.

She rolled her own eyes, "well, you know how we've been going over human anatomy?"

Usopp nodded slowly, "yeah. Kinda hard to forget when you have had a cranium thrown at your head."

Kaya covered her face as a blushed colored her cheeks, "I apologized for that already! And you shouldn't have offered to show me the difference between male and female anatomy, so really, it's your fault!"

Usopp gave another sassy grin, "the offer still stands. _Ow!" _He scowled and rubbed his stomach where she had kicked him.

"Do you want to see what I've done or not, you pervert?"

Usopp sighed, pried the book from her fingers and flopped down onto his stomach. He placed the sketchbook on the comforter and flipped through it until he got to the last used page. He bit his lip as he studied the delineate messily scrawled across the thick paper.

He considered it for a minute, knowing that Kaya was awaiting his reply. "It's a fine first try." he commented finally.

"It's _fine_?" Kaya said, emphasizing the word 'fine' as if it were a scandalous word.

Usopp bit his lip, "it's _accurate_... I think." he muttered the last part to himself as he stared at the picture. Truth be told, if Kaya had not labeled it, he would have no idea what he was staring at.

Kaya's face darkened and tears began to fill her eyes. Usopp sighed and pushed himself up to sit on his knees, "Kaya, don't cry. Please, you know I hate it when you cry." He said softly, running his fingers across her cheek to gather up the falling tears. "Everything is labeled correctly, you did a really good job. You should be very proud."

Kaya sniffled, "really?"

He smiled softly, "of course! The drawing is complete crap, but what you could do is trace it from the physiology book I gave you and then label. You don't need to be a good drawer to learn anatomy."

Kaya laughed, "well, at least I tried to draw it."

"You get an E for effort," Usopp said lightly, blushing slightly when she leaned over to hide her face in his neck. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and pushed her away. "Do you want to start on the next chapter, or go over things a bit more?"

She sat back and rubbed her cheeks, "I don't much feel like learning anything new today, and your exhausted. Why don't we just lay down and you can tell me a story?"

Usopp smiled thankfully and maneuvered himself comfortably on the bed while Kaya put her sketchbook back on her desk. She slipped under the covers and snuggled close to him, sighing when he put his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

Usopp closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the crown of her head, "so today I think I'll tell you about the future pirate king."

"Captain Usopp is going to be pirate king?" Kaya asked, thoroughly amused.

He chuckled lightly and shook his head, "nah, Captain Usopp isn't the main hero in this story. He is merely one of ten."

Kaya's eyes widened, "oh my, ten heroes?"

Usopp nodded, "well, they are pirates so technically they can't be seen as heroes, but they definitely are to me. Heroes and heroines, are brave and keep on fighting no matter how scared or how outnumbered they are."

"These pirates are really something, are they?"

"They have to be, they are part of the future pirate king's crew. Only the best deserves a spot on that ship. I'll admit, there will be times that Captain Usopp will feel as if he doesn't deserve to be with them, but those feelings will eventually fade."

Kaya smiled sadly, "even Captain Usopp loses his confidence sometimes."

"It's a good thing, knocks one down a few pegs." Usopp said softly, his breathing growing deep as he began to fall into sleep.

Kaya raised a hand to rub against his hip soothingly, knowing that it was something that caused him to fall asleep quickly. "Tell me about the start of the crew."

"The captain is an energetic guy, his personality infectious. He is one of those types that is always happy and laughing- he makes it really hard to be sad around him. He comes across as extremely moronic, but I think it's a facade, the naïveté is something he puts up to deal with the world around him.

"I would call him a hero, he would probably call anyone who says he is an idiot and claim that pirates can't be heroes because then they would have to share their meat, rather than eating it all themselves- he'd want to eat all the meat himself, you see. I think the swordsman would say something similar, but his would be more focused on booze. The navigator, one of the only girls, she would call them idiots, she shares similar views on heroism as Captain Usopp. I like to think she would grow to be one of his best friends."

"Is she pretty?"

"One of the most gorgeous girls in the world," Usopp said airily. "She's way too violent, it can be off putting, but that's how she shows her love." He fell silent for a long while after that, so long in fact that Kaya believed him to have fallen asleep. "She is the one that mostly deals with the financials. She'd come to Captain Usopp if she needed help of course, or the ship's Archaeologist/Researcher, that is the only other girl, she's about a decade older than them so she is kinda like the mother figure of the group. The ship wright, he's a cyborg, he's the father figure. And there's a skeleton too..."

"Oh dear, a skeleton? That must be pretty scary."

Usopp hummed, "one that plays the violin and can sword-fight. I think it unsettled some of the crew at first, but he grew to be a vital part soon enough. If I had to describe him, I would say he was the perverted grandfather, always asking for panties and such."

"Are there any others?"

"A few more. There is the blonde cook. He is awesome, although he smokes way too much. His cooking is the best anywhere- there is no one better. He is a gentleman to the ladies, but is, I'd describe him as one of those cheeky boys who always curses. Him and the swordsman fight all the time, but secretly they are best friends. The cook is the closest thing Captain Usopp has to an older brother, but he is close to the swordsman as well. The swordsman, he is closer to the doctor."

"Oh?"

"The doctor is the youngest, I'd say at most 15 when he first joins, but he is super cute and a genius when it comes to medicine. He looks like a stuffed toy, and it makes him look even more innocent and adorable. He hates being complimented and will curse at the person that gave him the compliment. He idolizes Captain Usopp, and can you blame him? He is the closest to the swordsman, but he would come to Captain Usopp and the Captain as well, so I guess he has three older brothers. There is one more, he is the helmsman- a fishman to boot. He is really cool and used to be a shichibukai."

Kaya smiled and closed her eyes, pressing her face against his chest, "it sounds like an amazing crew to be a part of."

Usopp nodded, snuggling deeper into the pillow. "It would be amazing... too bad it isn't real."

"Go to sleep, Usopp. Your exhausted and need to leave in a few hours, you silly thing."

"Mhmm," and with that he was asleep. Kaya shook her head and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, Usopp."

o0o

Usopp woke with a start, his head immediately swiveling to the right so he could squint at the clock on Kaya's bedside table. _02:47_ glared at him in the darkness and he let out a relieved breath, he still had thirteen minutes until Kuro came in to check on Kaya.

Gently, he extracted himself from Kaya and covered her with the blanket before slowly rising out of the bed. He gave a large yawn, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he stretched, cracking his neck.

He blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light and moved around blindly to find his boots, nearly yelling out when he tripped over them. He sighed wearily and sat on the floor to lazily pull on his boots. He was exhausted. He covered another yawn, scrubbing his fingers through his hair.

Jumping up he glanced at the clock, _02:54_, he'd be long gone by the time Kuro came to check on her. He pressed a kiss to Kaya's forehead, and climbed the window, slipping through clumsily due to his tiredness. He closed the window quietly and walked onto the branch outside, pressing himself against the trunk of the tree as he scanned the area. Not that he would be able to see much even if there were to be someone, or something, there.

Usopp jumped down, landing almost cat like on his feet and quietly made his way to the entrance. He paused every now and then when he heard a noise. When he finally made it through the gate he sighed in relief. It was always nerve-wracking sneaking in or out of the mansion, he'd got caught one too many times to not be weary of it.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rushed to the edge of the forest with only the light of the half-moon lighting his way. Used to the forest he was able to walk through with his eyes closed, but that didn't mean he wanted to. An owl hooted somewhere to his left and he jumped, heart racing as he picked up his pace just a bit more.

There was a flash of blonde in front of him, causing him to stop abruptly and blink. His breathing grew harsh as he looked around the wooded area. "W-whose t-t-there?" He stuttered, hand reaching into his back pocket for his slingshot.

No response came, merely the rustling of leaves in the trees from the evening breeze. "Oi! My league of 8,000 followers have you surrounded, it be best if you just surrender now."

There was an amused chuckle, but Usopp couldn't tell where it came from, or if it even came from anything. Sighing, Usopp dropped his arm and put his slingshot back in his pocket, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, "even the forest is mocking me." he muttered, shaking his head.

He coughed slightly and began to make his way out of the forest. It was late and he was exhausted, of course his mind was making up things that weren't there. Barely aware, he dodged the farmers pig who, somehow, had escaped its pen again. He watched as it poked around the neighbors' gardens before shrugging his shoulders. The pig wasn't his problem.

He entered his house, noting wearily that the door was once again coming off the hinges, before staggering into his room and collapsing on his bed. He sighed, kicked off his boots and snuggled into his pillow. Maybe he would stay in bed tomorrow. He gave one last yawn before falling into a deep, deep sleep.

o0o

Yasopp squinted in the darkness, the light of the moon blocked by the gray clouds making it difficult for him to see across the beach. He tripped over a branch and cursed under his breath, stumbling to catch his balance on the uneven slippery surface. He hated Syrup Village, always had, even as a child. He lit a torch and frowned. He could go straight through the village square, but if someone were to see him there it could mean big trouble. Yasopp veered left into the forest, his booted feet crunching the fallen leaves decorating the ground.

Despite the excess of darkness provided by the tree cover, he felt more comfortable there than on the beach. He practically grew up in the forest and knew it like the back of his hand. In the distance, he could sense more than see the tree where he carved his and Banchina's names into the bark some twenty years prior, the memory bringing a smile to his face.

With a sudden strong urge to see his wife and son, he sped up, running as quickly as he could to the end of the forest. He heard a gasp and a stuttered call of whoever he had frightened and couldn't help the chuckle that left his mouth but otherwise ignored them, knowing they could not see him. When he finally made it to the edge of the village, three houses from where the house he built stood, he slowed to a stop, his heart pumping against his rib cage.

He adjusted the pack on his back, and unconsciously checked his hip for his gun. It was quiet in the village except for the neighbor's pig who was running about in the street, again. Either that was the same pig as when he had lived in the village, or the neighbor still really sucked at keeping their animals in the pen. Yasopp sighed and shooed it away from the street, back into the neighbor's garden before locking it securely in its pen.

Yasopp rubbed the back of his neck and yawned, walking up the porch steps of his old home. He stopped at the front door and took the key from his back pocket. However, before he could put the key in, the door slid open with an eerie creak. Frowning, he placed his bag on the porch, put out his torch and took his gun from his holster. He closed his eyes, and focused. In the far right of the house, where Usopp's bedroom lie, his son was safely sleeping in his bed. At the center and left of the house there was nothing. Sighing in relief, Yasopp opened his eyes and put his gun back in his holster. As he bent down to grab his bag, he paused, another frown etching its way onto his face. He only sensed Usopp in the house, where the hell was Banchina this time of night?

He slipped through the door and made a beeline for his wife's bedroom, his heart pounding in his chest. Yasopp stopped in front of the closed door, hand shaking as he reached for the doorknob. He cracked open the door and peered inside, a frown blossoming on his face.

The room was completely void and dusty, as if it had been years since anyone had entered. He pulled away from the door and looked around the rest of the house. The rest of the place looked clean and lived in. He pulled the door closed with a light click and made his way to the living room to put down his bag.

He stopped near the desk in the corner, confirming his theory. Books were scattered on the desk, some opened to specific pages with complicated math equations. A notebook lay open, there was a messy scrawl painted across the pages with the answers to the equations circled.

Yasopp smiled and leaned down to read the titles for the rest of the textbooks, pressed up against the walls. _Advanced Physics, Advanced Engineering III, Organic Chemistry, Advanced Language of the North Blue. Intermediate West Blue Language Workbook. _He could not help the chuckle that escaped his throat, Usopp was just as brilliant as his mother. Not that there was reason to be shocked, the kid had taken apart Yasopp's gun when he was only three years old.

He ran a hand through his hair and walked into the kitchen. He scrunched his nose at the lime green color of the kitchen before walking over to the draining board and grabbing one of the cups. He opened the fridge, expecting it to be decently full, but could only frown when he noticed the lack of food and drink. One apple, and half a bottle of water lay on the top shelf. The rest of the shelves were bare save for a couple of experiments.

He knitted his eyebrows, closing the fridge and going to the freezer, only to see that the fridge was pretty much void as well. He closed the freezer and placed the cup on the kitchen counter, his heart squeezing as he quickly began to go through the familiar cabinets. A can of soup lay on its side, a mostly empty boy of cereal glared at him. He shook his head, this was impossible. He sent money home almost every month, how could there possibly be no food in the house?

His eyes fell on the financial book on the counter. He snatched it up, flicking on the kitchen light. In Usopp's writing were the current month's financials. Where it should say 100,000 Beri, it said 20,000 Beri, a mere fifth of what he had sent over. He frowned and flipped through the previous pages, noting similar numbers. "What the fuck is going on?"

He knew that island taxes alone were almost 10,000 Beri, which left them next to nothing for food. Not to mention the other bills they needed to pay, clothes, Usopp's school books and uniforms. Where had all the money he been sending gone? It wasn't going to tuition because Yasopp always made sure to pay it off at the beginning of each year.

Feeling disgusted he slammed the book shut and threw it back onto the counter, running his hands over his face. If he thought about it, it was obvious that the Marines had something to do with the missing money. Money transfers needed to go through them before being distributed. If they had somehow found out that Yasopp, a wanted pirate, was sending money home to his family, they would take most of the money and claim it a taxation.

Yasopp growled and stormed from the kitchen back into the living room. He took a moment to breathe slowly through his nose, and exhale through his mouth, sitting down on the edge of the threadbare couch to gather his thoughts. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, hands clenched into fists over his eyes to stop angry tears from falling. He opened his eyes, his gaze falling to the family pictures above the mantle.

He could not help but smile at the wedding picture of him and Banchina that sat in the middle. He was dressed in a pink collared button down, she was dressed in a white dress, looking more beautiful than anything in the world. He had picked her up and was twirling her when the picture was taken. Her hair falling into both of their faces, as they spun.

The picture to the right was taken the day Usopp was born. It was the first time Yasopp had ever held him, and the baby boy in his arms was strongly holding onto his finger, a small gummy smile on his chubby face. Yasopp could never remember a time that he fell in love harder than the day he met his son. Although, falling in love with Banchina was a close second.

Swallowing hard, Yasopp stood to look at the next picture. It was a snapshot of their last Christmas together as a family. Usopp was sitting beside the large green Christmas tree that Shanks had brought them from one of his travels. He was surrounded by numerous presents, piled high above his head. Usopp was holding a present he had just finished opening from Dragon- a chemistry set. Beside his leg was a green slingshot, and a pile of books for him to study his reading and writing. Banchina was sitting beside him on the floor, writing in her journal that she kept for work. There was a light smile on her face as she looked up from her writing to watch Usopp gasp at his present.

The photo above the Christmas one was Yasopp helping baby Usopp walk. He held both of the tyke's hands as the baby boy tripped over his own feet with a large, self-satisfied grin on his face. Yasopp was laughing, as he kneeled to help steady his son.

Yasopp brushed his fingers over the glass and sighed. There was so much he missed out on over the years. He looked to his left, studying the final photo in the lineup. It was of Usopp, just Usopp. It was taken just before he made his first successful shot. Yasopp remembered it was after an entire morning of teaching him how to stand, how to aim, and various other things. Usopp had just been about to give up when he made the big hit. Yasopp had almost cried at the sheer happiness he saw radiating off his son's face. "I bet he is even more amazing now," Yasopp whispered to himself. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from crying as he turned away from the photographs. There were others lining the wall, school pictures from the time Usopp was four through the most recent years. He had the first four years of school pictures, but they stopped coming after Usopp's 4th year in school. He wrote, asking for more pictures, but the letters were never replied to.

Yasopp nodded to himself and slowly made his way to Usopp's bedroom. He paused at the door, leaning against the doorjamb to stare into the darkened room. The window by Usopp's bed allowed in what small amount of light the moon afforded. It cast dark shadows about the room, but almost seemed to illuminate his slumbering son.

Using his skills as a pirate as so not to wake him, Yasopp snuck quietly into the room and sat on the floor beside the bed. Leaning his forehead against the mattress, he lifted his hand to gently touch the back of Usopp's right hand from where it was peeking out from under his blanket. Holding his breath, he freezes when Usopp mumbled and moves, then sighs in relief as the boy settles back down.

Yasopp yawns and closes his eyes, moving to get more comfortable on the carpeted floor. He allows himself to nod off, memories of years past floating past his closed eyelids.

The next time Yasopp woke it was early morning. There was a chilly nip in the air, and the sky was turning from deep blue to water colored purples, pinks and yellows. He stretches his hands over his head, wincing as his back straightened. He was not as young as he used to be. Clumsily, he pulls himself to his feet, stifling a yawn. When he gets back to the ship, he will eat breakfast, check in with Shanks and Ben, then he will go take a nap on his nice study bed.

He looks down at Usopp who somehow ended up halfway off the bed, and with the covers only covering his feet. Shaking his head, Yasopp pulled the covers back over Usopp's body and reached over the bed to shut the window most of the way to keep out most of the draft.

Swallowing, Yasopp crouched beside the bed, leaning his chin on his folded arms as he studied Usopp in the steadily growing light of day. He had grown big since the last time he had laid eyes on him. Hell, he was almost 17 now. Yasopp scrunched up his nose, god he was old.

Shaking his head, Yasopp pushed himself up and leaned over to press a kiss to Usopp's forehead. "Be well, my son."

"Huh?" Usopp asked, his voice groggy as he twisted in his bed and pushed himself up onto his elbows. He looked around with blurry eyes but saw nothing in the room. "Mus've been a dream." He muttered to himself groggily, before dropping back into his pillow. After a minute his breathing evened out and he was asleep once more.

Yasopp sighed in relief, slipping himself out from under Usopp's bed. He brushed his hands on his pants before slipping them into his pockets. Gently, he pulled the necklace around his neck out of his shirt and unclasped it, allowing it to fall into the palm of his hand. It was a sturdy gold necklace with a slingshot charm attached. He stared down at Usopp for a moment, a frown forming on his face. How was he supposed to put the necklace on him without Usopp sensing it and waking up? Scaring the kid half to death was _not_ how he wanted to meet his son again after all these years.

Yasopp sighed resignedly and placed it next to Usopp's pillow. He pulled away, and frowned again, before picking it up and putting it in the palm of Usopp's hand. Almost as soon as the necklace touched Usopp's hand, his fingers tightened around it in a death grip. If Yasopp had any doubts and wanted it to take it back he wouldn't be able to get it away from him without risking waking Usopp.

Chuckling lightly, he leaned down and pressed a kiss against Usopp's cheek before straightening up and pulling his shirt back down over his stomach from where it had ridden up. He stood awkwardly for a moment before turning and leaving the room. Yawning widely, he made his way to the kitchen and got himself a drink of water, his mouth dry from sitting in the drafty room all evening.

He leaned against the counter, staring at the financial book that lay in the same place he threw it earlier that morning. He would need to find a way to get more money to Syrup Village without the government catching wind of it. He would talk to Shanks and Ben about it when he got back to the ship and checked in with them. Ben would probably have some idea of what to do.

He washed out the cup in his hand and placed it back into the draining board as he passed on his way to the bathroom to throw water on his face. Drying his face on the lone towel in the bathroom sighed and shook his head. A part of him didn't want to leave; didn't want to say goodbye again to his son, but he knew that he had to… that eventually he would miss the sea and leave all over again.

Sighing heavily, he peered out of the window as he shouldered his bag. If he was going to leave, he had to do it now. The farmer would be out in a couple of minutes, if he wasn't already, and it wouldn't do for Usopp to know he was there, and others had seen him when he had not. He glanced into Usopp's bedroom from the front door. "Good Morning, My Son."

It was with a heavy heart that Yasopp closed the front door to the home, not knowing when or if, he would ever see his son again.

o0o

As the front door closed, Usopp shot up in his bed looking around wildly the necklace held tightly in his fist, "Dad!?"


End file.
